Chapter 12- Daisy
For a prison, this place actually wasn't that bad. She got three meals a day, all better than her normal, she was safe (she assumed), and here was the best part- books. Her guardians or whatever were willing to bring her any book she wanted. Reading was now her favorite thing to do, as she hadn't had many books before she left. Now that she had a basically unlimited supply, all she did was read for the last couple days. It was great.
She had started off with a pretty basic one, but a classic- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. She found it ironic. Then she went to a different book, though it was slightly worse in her opinion- Of Mice and Men. It was okay, but, to her, it was pretty boring about 90% of the time.
Currently, Daisy was leaning against the cement wall of her cell, about halfway through Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, with her legs crossed and her hair shoved into a messy bun atop her head. The guards had her clothes washed for the first time ever, and they felt great. She was more comfortable now than she had been in a long time.
Her guards were surprisingly kind to her. They were all women, and they never talked. Even when prompted, they just shook their heads. For some reason, they constantly had a worried look on their faces, as well, looking behind them down the hallway as if something was going to reach out and grab them. Any time Daisy questioned it, they just shook their heads, and walked away. It was… odd. And very quiet. All she had her books. She couldn't complain.
At the sound of light footsteps, she lifted her head. One of the youngest ones, maybe 10 or 11, stepped in front of her cell, and looked at her. She had that same worried look on her face as she always did, and she pointed one of her hands toward the hallway.
"What's up?" Daisy asked, "Is something wrong?"
The girl kept one hand pointed at the hallway, brought the other one up, and partly extended her first two fingers, moving them like legs. At first, Daisy had no idea what she was doing, but then a suggestion popped up in her mind.
"Is someone coming? Why can't you just tell me?"
The girl shook her head, getting frustrated. She looked up, pointed at the hallway, and made a face Daisy supposed was meant to be mean, or angry.
"Okay, so the people or things coming are mean?"
She nodded her head vigorously, with a fearful expression.
"...Okay, I'll keep an eye out, thanks."
The girl shook her head. She made the face again, but with extra emphasis.
"Umm… They're really mean? I'm sorry, I might not be understanding you. I can't really do anything to prepare. How bad could it get, anyway? Everyone seems nice so far."
The girl's eyes widened at Daisy's last question. She shook her head again, seemingly mad at Daisy now. She stomped her right foot, saying They're very mean!
Daisy gave the girl a look of pity. "Um, ya, okay…" she replied, not convinced.
The girl looked away, obviously trying to find a way to show Daisy of the people's supposed atrocities. After a moment, her face lit up, and she looked back at Daisy, not with anger, but now with worry.
She brought her hand up, pointing at her mouth. Then, with her other hand, she made a mouth, opening and closing it.
"Talking."
She nodded. Then, she brought her other hand to cover up the mouth.
"They… you can't talk with them around?"
Negative. She shook her head, and looked away, trying to figure out another way to voice her ideas. After a moment, she sighed, and looked back up at Daisy, as if she were preparing for something she didn't want to do. Then, she opened her mouth to show something.
After a moment of confusion, Daisy looked. Inside, where a tongue should have been, there was… nothing. Just a stubby, cauterized muscle stemming from the back of her throat.
"They… c-cut out your tongue…?" Daisy asked, horrified.
She nodded slowly, and closed her mouth, her eyes forming into warning and worry.
The thought finally entered her mind. Standing up, she asked the question, "Are you saying they're going to cut out my tongue?"
The shrugged and shook her head slowly. Maybe.
Panic pushed at the back of her mind, but she pushed it back. She looked around her cell for a weapon she could easily hide in her two tiny pockets. Her mind immediately went to her flimsy bed. Maybe there was a detachable metal part?
Thanking the girl desperately, she moved to her bed, taking the mattress off. Looking it over, the only thing she could find was the leg, which she could easily unscrew with her hands. The thing is, it definitely wouldn't fit in her pockets- it was a couple feet long.
The girl, still outside her cell, breathed out loudly. When Daisy looked back at her, she pointed toward the hallway frantically and started walking away.
Daisy mouthed thank you, and heard loud, large sounding footsteps from far away.
Turning back to the bed, she decided this was her only option. She pulled the flimsy bed frame out and unscrewed the back leg frantically, hoping the guards simply wouldn't see. When it was done, though, the bed fell out of balance and tilted toward the missing leg. Daisy could hear the footsteps closer now, coming down the hallway she was in.
Quickly thinking, she set the bar down and made a stack of most of the books she had gotten. She shoved them underneath the missing leg, forming an adequate level of the bed, and hurriedly shoved it back into place. She grabbed the stick and held it behind her back just as a man stepped in front of her cell, armored but small. She grinned at him, looking casual.
"Ready to go?" he asked. He stepped forward and began unlocking the door. After it opened with a heavy screech, he stood back and lifted his right arm, motioning for her to walk down the hallway.
Daisy cocked her head. "Where?" she asked, walking into the hall. Somehow, she seemed to keep the stick out of the guard's sight by moving her arms from her back to her front.
"Oh, it's fun, you'll see. Right this way." Daisy had to shift her arms again as he walked in front of her to lead the way. Unfortunately, as she moved the bar past her hip, the end hit the ground, making a dull dong.
He looked at her cautiously. "What are you hiding?" he asked with kind grin.
Without any other choice, she screamed and swung the bar, with all of her power, at the guard's unprotected face.
The guard's eyes widened and he quickly put his arm up, successfully catching the bar. With a disappointed frown, he pulled it away from her.
"Where the hell'd you get this? You're lucky I'm in a decent mood. Anyway, right this way. It'd probably be best for both of us if you stopped fighting," the man growled.
Surprised she wasn't dead yet, Daisy followed the guard down the hallway, trying to find another way out of whatever was about to happen.
The pair turned left at the end of the dreaded hallway, and, after a while more of walking through a prison full of starving people, pushed open a set of double doors and walked into a circle of heavily armored guards. Above their heads, Daisy could see bright, colored lights, and she heard other people, though all masculine, talking. Above her, possibly twenty-or-so feet above, was a metal ceiling, gray and monotone above her. On the sides of the city were glass windows, showcasing the dark greens and blues of the ocean floor. After a moment, she realized that she was in a city.
The guards walked her through the city, their height disabling her view. It was very cold in the room, and it smelled of fish and spices. She heard many, many people in the place, with shouts sounding everywhere.
After what seemed like minutes, the guards opened up and her guard moved her through another set of doors into a new looking, pre-war style building. Inside, everything was a clean white- the walls, the floor, even most of the furniture. When she stopped for a moment to take it in, the guard pushed on her back from behind in urgency. "Come on," he prompted, "We have to go."
They walked down another hallway (Daisy wondered how many were in the city) and moved into a small room, with a door on the other side of their entrance. It looked like some sort of mudroom, a place to get ready in.
As she walked inside, he stayed at the door. "Usually they have a uniform for this, but you look okay right now anyway," he explained as he looked over her entire body. She felt uncomfortable, and crossed her arms, closing him out. "Just head on through that door when you're ready, okay? Have fun." And before she could object, he shut the door, and, after a moment, she heard the click of the mechanical lock.
She turned around and looked at the door in front of her. It was metal, painted white, and slid open automatically when someone stood in front of it, like the other doors in the building. It looked cold.
As it slid open, her eyes were greeted with more white. The room was modern-looking, almost sci-fi, and a single yellow band circled the room's walls. In the center of the square room was a single bed, fitted with white sheets, pillows, and blankets. A chest rested at the front of the bed. On one side of the room, backed up to the wall, was a white, leather couch. And on the couch was a boy, probably her age, maybe a year older, dressed in blue jeans and a white- ugh -shirt. His head lifted as she walked into the room, looking around. His brown hair fell behind his head, but was not long enough to be slightly feminine. He looked at her with boredom at first, and then, after a moment, his eyes widened slightly, as if he'd remembered something.
"Uh, hi, I'm Andrew. Hope the trip here wasn't too bad," he said, standing up and holding out his hand.
After a moment of caution, Daisy took it and took note of his shaky grip. "Hi. My name's- my name's Daisy," she said nervously, letting go of his hand. "Do you know why we're here? I was kind of rushed over, and didn't get any details."
He put his hands to his side and cocked his head in confusion. "You… you don't know?"
Daisy shook her head, scared for whatever answer may come.
"Uh… Why'd you volunteer, then?"
Volunteer?
"Volunteer? Uh, no, definitely not. I just came from… Well, I was never really told about what this place is," she explained. She wasn't sure if yelling out to everyone that she had been in jail minutes before was the best idea.
"Wait, you didn't volunteer for this? I… see," he said, looking at the ground.
What does that mean? she thought.
He began to pace. After a moment, he explained, "Um, I'm trying to find a way to say this. So, this place is called a Population Center." He looked up at her as if he were worried about how she'd react. "They shove two people in here and lock them in until they… you know… populate. Procreate."
Daisy caught full awareness of her entire body. She began thinking. "...What?" she whispered. She crossed her arms, and looked away from the boy in front of her. "That's disgusting."
And she truly thought it was. Ever since she'd been taught about the process of sexual reproduction in her old group, she was repulsed by the entire subject. It just seemed… gross. Tiring. Unsanitary? Either way, not fun.
Andrew's confident facade began to falter. "I know," he said, quietly.
"How did you get in here?" Daisy said, beginning to get angry over the situation. What right did anyone have to shove her in some room and have a kid with a stranger?
"I signed up," he said quickly, as if it was a given. When Daisy looked at him with surprise, he shook his head. "It's not really a choice, okay? It's, like, a becoming of age. You know, go in a boy, come out a man sort of thing. You're not from around here, are you?" He sighed. "They just gave me pictures and ages. I chose the one who looked the nicest."
Daisy had none of this flattery. "Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not having sex, or giving birth. When do they let us out?" she asked, looking around the room for disgusting cameras or something.
He put on a face to show that he was done with being coy. "They don't. If you don't want to… do anything, then we're stuck, because I'm not gonna force you. I'm just saying, we should get this over with and get out of this place."
She physically shivered in disgust. She could not believe where she was, or that such a place could even exist. "Or, we could figure out a way to get us out of here. This is a very boring room to be in for nine months."
He shook his head. "Look, people don't just 'get out' of this place. It's locked up and sealed."
"Then... let's find the key."
